Tony Abbott's concern lapse for the children on his doorstep

As Australian Federal Police were again denied access to the MH17 crash site this week and questions were asked about whether Australia should be in such a dangerous part of the world, you could hear the Prime Minister Tony Abbott struggling to contain his frustration.

In an interview on the wireless on Thursday, Abbott argued Australia was on a ‘‘moral’’ mission to recover the victims of the air tragedy in Ukraine. ‘‘What could be more moral and more ethical than going to claim your dead, assist the investigation and to obtain justice?’’

Next week, flags will fly at half mast around Australia to mark a National Day of Mourning for the victims.‘‘There were 298 innocent people on this aircraft and their deaths offend our sense of justice,’’ Abbott said in an emotionally charged statement.

It is always fraught to compare human suffering, but there has been a noticeable ‘‘concern gap’’ between the government’s reaction to MH17 and the recent reports of life on Christmas Island.

Last week, Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs and professor of child health Elizabeth Elliott reported back on their trip to the island where they saw children with chest and gut complaints, "big lumps", red eyes and untreated sores. They also observed psychological complaints: nightmares, stuttering and toilet-trained children wetting their beds.

On Thursday, Triggs compelled medical experts to appear at a public hearing for the commission’s inquiry into children in detention. Here, psychiatrist Peter Young revealed the Immigration Department had told service provider International Health and Medical Services to "withdraw" figures that showed large numbers of children in detention were suffering significant levels of distress.

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As Triggs later recounted, witnesses also described examples of children banging and putting plastic bags on their heads, jumping off heights, cutting themselves, hanging themselves and drinking detergent. This followed 128 reports of self-harm incidents for children in detention between January 2013 and March 2014. Over the same time period, there were 80 for adults.

The government has been unmoved in response.

Last week, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said he did not believe Triggs’ reports of sick and self-harming children were true. ‘‘I don’t think there is evidence of the claim that the Human Rights Commissioner has made in the way that she has made it,’’ he told the ABC’s 7.30. ‘‘These are difficult environments and appropriate care is provided by our people. I think they’re quite sensational claims that have been made. [Triggs] herself is not a doctor and we have medical people who are there who provide that care on a daily basis.’’

This week, when asked about the evidence that emerged from the Human Rights Commission inquiry, Abbott replied: ‘‘No one wants to see children in detention, no one wants to see anyone in detention. But the only way to avoid this is to stop the boats.’’

When pressed about the children who were in detention now, he said: ‘‘What could be more horrific than the idea of children perishing at sea because their parents have fallen for the false promises of the people smugglers?’’

All this comes as psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists and social workers have written separately to the inquiry, warning of the mental health risks of detaining children. These include post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, twitching, nightmares, bed wetting and self harm. Their bottom line? Apart from the very real questions about whether it is legal to detain children for as long as Australia does it, it is that it is not safe nor healthy for children to be locked up.

And yet, the government is waving away legitimate concerns and mounting evidence. This instead of, say, even entertaining the idea that some of this stuff may need to be looked at further.

Then again, there is an emerging pattern with the Coalition of dismissing expert advice.

There is, of course, no shortage of experts and advice around policy and politicking. And governments are entitled to pick their own path. But it is worth noting that sometimes expertise is just that. And doesn’t come with an ideological agenda.